Compilation Album "A Best"

Album information

This album also features two tracks that were never released as singles ("A Song for XX" and "Who..."). Due to the large number of Ayumi Hamasaki singles, the songs on the album are fan favorites. Songs from her debut album such as "A Song for XX", "Trust", and "Depend on You" were re-recorded, showing the changes in Hamasaki's vocal qualities. The initial pressings had six different variations that each came with its own "gift".

A Best was released simultaneously with Utada Hikaru's Distance, which topped the charts on the initial week of release with 3,002,720 copies in its first week; A Best debuted at number two with 2,874,870 copies. Additionally, it topped the charts the second week of its release and is the sixth highest-selling album of all time in Japan. To date A BEST is Ayumi Hamasaki's highest selling album in Japan. It sold 4,301,353 copies total.

Though this was her best selling album, Hamasaki opposed it publicly, stating: "It was too early for release." According to Oricon, A Best is the second highest selling Japanese album of the decade.

Track listing

01. "A Song for XX" ~new vocal and mix~
02. "Trust" ~new vocal and mix~
03. "Depend on You" ~new vocal & mix~
04. "Love: Destiny"
05. "To Be"
06. "Boys & Girls"
07. "Trauma"
08. "End roll"
09. "Appears"
10. "Fly High"
11. "Vogue"
12. "Far Away"
13. "Seasons"
14. "Surreal"
15. "M"
16. "Who..."

Musical Style

Hamasaki's lyrics, all her own, have resonated among her fans, who praise them as being honest and heartfelt and "expressing determination"; in two surveys conducted by Oricon, respondents voted Hamasaki's lyrics as their favorite aspect of her artistry. Steve McClure of The Japan Times noted that Hamasaki has "developed a reputation as a thoughtful, introspective lyricist"; Barry Walters of The Village Voice comments that Hamasaki's lyrics "pack unlikely insights." Because she has "trouble voicing her thoughts", Hamasaki uses her lyrics as an outlet; she draws inspiration from her own (and occasionally her friends') experiences and emotions and tries to put them "honestly into words". She has stated that honesty is essential to her lyrics, saying, "If I write when I'm low, it will be a dark song, but I don't care. I want to be honest with myself at all times." Because of this, she did not use English lyrics until her album Rainbow, as she had felt that she could best express herself in Japanese. As with her musical style, the themes of her lyrics have varied. Her debut album A Song for ×× dealt mostly with themes of "loneliness and confusion", as did her second album Loveppears. Duty likewise expressed feelings of disappointment and confusion. Hamasaki began to take on a more global outlook with her following albums I Am... and Rainbow, branching out to wider themes such as faith and peace. As Hamasaki matured, her lyrics began to express more confidence; themes in her later albums included love and the struggles of women. In addition to personal experiences and feelings, Hamasaki bases lyrics on sources such as historical events. The life of Joan of Arc was the inspiration for "Free & Easy", while a story told to her by her friend about a saint named Mary served as the basis for "M"; the September 11 attacks inspired "A Song Is Born". "Evolution" (2001)

Many of Hamasaki's songs are dance tunes, such as "Evolution" (2001), a self-composed single that also has rock elements.
"M" (2000)

"M", the first song composed by Hamasaki under the pseudonym "Crea", shifts to a relative key, like most of her self-composed songs.
"Bold & Delicious" (2005)

Hamasaki took new directions on (Miss)understood, as epitomized by the single "Bold & Delicious", a funk-influenced song that used a gospel-style chorus.
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In addition to writing her own lyrics, Hamasaki has also involved herself in other aspects of production such as artistic direction. Though Max Matsuura is officially credited as the producer of her records, he said of Hamasaki, "Ayu is a very meticulous worker behind the scenes. A lot of the work she does by herself is more in the producer's arena. I think really we should say 'Produced by [A]yumi [H]amasaki'." Until her single "M", however, Hamasaki left the task of composing to her staff; as she has explained, "I'm not a professional; I lack even basic knowledge about writing music." However, she started to compose her own melodies after her staff had failed to compose a tune for "M" that appealed to her. Wanting to produce works faithful to her visions, Hamasaki took control of most aspects of her artistry. I Am... is representative of this stage in Hamasaki's career; she directed the production of its songs, videos, and artwork. She began to compose less after I Am...: whereas nearly all of I Am... was her work, only nine of Rainbow's fifteen tracks were composed by her. She was even less involved in the composition of subsequent albums, composing two tracks on Memorial Address, three on My Story, and one on (Miss)understood; since Secret, none of the songs on her studio albums have listed her as a composer. With later albums, Hamasaki also began to delegate to her staff tasks she had once handled herself. Hamasaki cites Madonna, soul musicians Babyface and En Vogue, and rock bands Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple as her influences and states that she admires Michelle Branch, Kid Rock, Joan Osborne, Seiko Matsuda, Rie Miyazawa, and Keiko Yamada; these diverse influences have led to the variety of her own music. Hamasaki began commissioning remixes of her songs early in her career, and this practice also influenced the diversity of her music. Found on many of her records, these remixes span different genres of electronic dance music including Eurobeat, house, and trance, as well as acoustic genres such as classical and traditional Chinese music. She has employed Western as well as Japanese musicians; among those she has worked with are Above & Beyond, the Lamoureux Orchestra of France, and traditional Chinese music ensemble Princess China Music Orchestra. Hamasaki has released more than a hundred original songs; through them, she has covered a wide range of musical styles, such as dance, metal, R&B, progressive rock, pop, and classical. She uses different instruments and techniques including piano, orchestra, gospel choirs, guitars, traditional Japanese strings, music boxes, and effects such as yells, claps, and scratching.
 
Hamasaki is often involved in the artistic direction of her music videos. They are often artistic productions through which Hamasaki tries to convey the meaning or feeling of their respective songs. The themes of the videos are varied; she has made "sad and fragile" or "emotional" videos ("Momentum", "Endless Sorrow"), "refreshing" summer videos ("Blue Bird", "Fairyland"), surreal or "scary" videos ("1 Love", "Marionette"), and humorous videos ("Evolution", "Angel's Song", "Beautiful Fighters"). Additionally, many of the videos contain short storylines, some of which use symbolism to convey their respective messages. The video of "Voyage" depicts Hamasaki as a woman in a mental hospital whose previous incarnation was a woman in feudal Japan who was sacrificed to the moon; the video of "Endless Sorrow" features a young boy living in a society where speaking is forbidden by law. In the video for "Free & Easy", Hamasaki portrayed a "twenty-first-century Joan of Arc" to convey her message "freedom cannot be easily obtained; there is a price to pay for it" and to express her opposition to her marrying at the time; the video for "Ourselves" featured masked people destroying "effigies of [Hamasaki's] past" such as photographs and album covers to symbolize destruction and rebirth. Additionally, the videos of "Fairyland", "My Name's Women", and "Jewel" are among the top twenty or so most expensive music videos, making Hamasaki the only non-American artist to hold such a distinction. Hamasaki is also involved in the production and artistic direction of her live performances; they, like her videos, are often lavish productions and use a variety of props, extravagant costumes, and choreographed dances. She has used large video screens, fireworks, simulated rain drops, trick stage floors, and suspended devices.

Ayumi...

Ayumi Hamasaki (あゆみ 浜崎) (October 2, 1978) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and former actress. Also called Ayu by her fans, Hamasaki has been dubbed the "Empress of Pop" due to her popularity and widespread influence in Japan. Born and raised in Fukuoka, she moved to Tokyo at fourteen to pursue a career in entertainment. In 1998, under the tutelage of Avex CEO Max Matsuura, she released a string of modestly selling singles that concluded with her 1999 debut album A Song for XX. The album debuted atop the Oricon charts and stayed there for four weeks, establishing her popularity in Japan.

Because of her constantly changing image and tight control over her artistry, Hamasaki's popularity extends across Asia; music and fashion trends she has started have spread to countries such as China, Singapore, and Taiwan. She has appeared in or lent her songs to many advertisements and television commercials. Though she originally supported the exploitation of her popularity for commercial purposes, she later reconsidered and eventually opposed her status as an Avex "product".

Since her 1998 debut with the single "Poker Face", Hamasaki has sold over 50 million records in Japan, ranking her among the best-selling singers in the country. As a female singer, Hamasaki holds several domestic records for her singles, such as the most number-one hits, the highest sales, and the most million-sellers. From 1999 to 2009, Hamasaki had at least one single each year top the charts. Hamasaki is the first female singer to have eight studio albums since her debut to top the Oricon and the first artist to have a number-one album for 11 consecutive years since her debut.